Armor piercing, fragmenting and incendiary projectile



Feb. 7, 1967 F. R. MARQUARDT ARMOR PIERCING, FRAGMENTING AND INCENDIARYPROJECTILE Filed July 23, 1965 RMK i?. M

INVENTOR United States Patent O 3,302,570 ARMOR PIERClNG, FRAGMENTINGAND INCENDIARY PROJECTILE Frank R. Marquardt, Alexandria, Va., assiguorto Walter G. Finch, Baltimore, Md. Filed `Iuly 23, 1965, Ser. No.474,329 12 Claims. (Cl. 1112-52) This invention relates generally toammunition, and more particularly it pertains to armor piercingincendiary type projectiles.

Hardened steel armor has been and is still used as a countermeasureagainst receiving lethal projectile or shape charge damage againstvulnerable components of, or people in intricate machines 4such aspersonnel carriers, tanks, and equivalent armored vehicles.

An object of this invention, therefore, 4is to provide a new type armorpiercing, fragmenting and incendiary projectile which reduces thecountermeasure effectiveness of hardened steel armor by minimizing theamount of projectile energy or impulse required to pass through thearmor.

In addition, another object of this invention is to provide iaprojectile which also maximizes the amount of darnage to components andpeople supposedly protected by the farmer.

maximum initial penetrator energy. A low-weight wind-l shield was usedto reduce laerodynamic d r-ag, lthus reducing the amount of energy lostas a function of tiring range to target. In an attempt 'to increasedamage iat the target, some of the former projectile designs contained`an incendiary material forward of the hardened steel penetrator andenclosed -by'the lightweight windshield.

`The net effect obtained was incendiary ilash on the outside of thearmored target before theprojectile penetrator started to pierce thearmor with the result that no incendiary material would.v pass throughthe armor and contact lcomponents or people behind the armor. Becausethe projectile penetrator was large in diameter, a large amount of armorwould have to be displaced to allow penetration. 'Ihus the armorabsorbed `a large -amount =of the penetrating energy ofthe project-ileand thinner armor could prevent passage of the projectile. Also bymaking the armor of a high hardness steel material, many such hardenedsteel projectiles would be shattered upon impact, reducing projectilepenetration consideria-bly.

Accordingly, it is a further object of the present invention to providea t projectile which will overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages:and -increase the penetration capability with less energy beingexpended.

Another object of this invention lis to provide an armor penetratingprojectile which fragments in such a Way as t-o obtain greater afterarmor damage.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide in an armor piercingprojectile, a pair of incendiary means, one of which follows through tobe eifective on the far side of armor and one operating on the near sidethereof.

Still another object of this invention'is to provide a follow-up plugcutter means to increase the fragmentation of armor in an armorpenetrating projectile and cause more far side damage.

A further object of this invention is to provide a projectile whichreduces the initial impact shattering by providing nose cushion :andlubrication means for the armor piercing element of the projectile.

Other objects and attendant advantages of this invention will vbecomemore readily -apparent and understood from the following detailedspecification and single sheet of accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section of an armor piercing fragmentingincendiary projectile embodying features of this invention; and

FIG. 2 is a View similar to FIG. 1 of la modied embodiment of theinvention.

Referring now to the details of the drawings, with special attention otFIG. 1, reference numeral 10 is a projectile intended for tiring from agun. This projectile 10 consists of an axially located penetrator 11made of a rather slender but lrelatively very long rod of high density`hard metal such as depleted uranium or an alloy of tungsten car-bideand cobalt. This penetrator 11 is formed with an enlarged, tapered,blunt-pointed head 13.

A high density incendiary material, shown by reference numeral 12,surrounds the elongated portion of penetrator 11, but is slightlysmaller in diameter than the forward head 13. The weight of theincendiary 12 assists penetration through the armor and passes throughthe hole.

Because ofl impact shocks and heat generated as the armor is pierced,the latter half of the long penetrator 11, as Well as the incendiarymaterial 12, -surrounding the penetrator 11 fracture into lethalparticles. The incendiary material is thus ignited and continued iiightof the fractured penetrator 11 and incendiary material 12 through thehole causes considerable damage to internal components and people.

To prevent complete fracture of the penetrator 11 at high angles ofimpact obliquely, a soft metal nose 18, is placed forward of the head 13of the penetrator 11.

A light-weight windshield 15 is provided to reduce aerodynamic drag ofthe projectile 10 and thus minimize energy loss during ight to thetarget. Outside armor damage can -be obtained by placing a light-weightincendi-ary material 16 around the heavy incendiary 12, with theobjective of not passing through the hole formed by the penetrator 11. i

A projectile body 17 is required to obtain a high launch velocity out ofa gun barrel and to stabilize the projectile 10 during iiight to thetarget. By forming and hardening the front end 14 of the hollowprojectile body 17 to a sharpened cookie-cutter" shape as shown, moreinternal dam-age is obtained when thin armor is impacted since a largerhole is formed in the armor by cutting out a plug which is alsofractured and tossed internally `against components and people. The mass(weight) of the projectile body 17 adds energy to the penetrator 11 andincendiary 12, during the penetration process until the front end of theprojectile body 14, contacts the target surface. Thus, still greaterpenetration and back-of-armor damage is obtained as a result of energyretention in the material passing through the hole made in the armor.The low density incendiary 16, is used to reduce weight duringaccelenation down the gun barrel and thus obtain a higher initialprojectile velocity (higher initial energy).

When it is desired to obtain the greatest penetration depth (defeat ofthicker armor), the penetrator 21 can be made still longer in aprojectile 20 as shown in FIG. 2. The rear end 23 of the denseincendiary 16, is tapered to form a wedging seal Iaround the rearwardlyextended penetrator 21, when the projectile 20 is accelerated by thehigh pressure propellant gas.

The wedge surface 19 behind the enlarged head 13, applies support toaccelerate the penetrator 11, at the same rate the rest of theprojectile 20 is being accelerated. The longitudinal force cre-ated atwedge surface 19 is resisted at the slope of rear end 23 and is thesource of force that creates the wedging seal, preventing high pressurepropellant gas from entering the projectile 20 and igniting thelight-weight incendiary material 16, and/or prevents the incendiary 16,and the light-weight windshield from being blown free of the rest of theprojectile body and penetrator 21.

A third alternate design, not shown, Where it is not desirable to haveincendiary pass through the hole made by the penetrator, would be toomit the material 12. This type of penetrator 11 or 21 would then havean elongated portion of slightly smaller diameter than the head 13 whichis desirable because as penetration through armor takes place, the armortends to recover (closing the hole slightly) trapping some of thefractured penetrator material in the armor cavity. The reducedafter-portion of the penetrator fragments during the penetration processWhile the forward portion or head 13 remains intact as previouslyrelated.

It is well known that hardened armor plate that is free of low meltingtemperature impurities is more resistant to high density penetratorsthan hardened armor plate that contains a moderate amount of low meltingtemperature impurities. The soft nose 18 is not only a soft material toprevent initial shatter of the penetrator 11, but is also of a lowmelting temperature such that upon impact of the projectile 10, or 20with hardened armor plate that is free of impurities, the nose 18 meltsand forms an alloy and provides a lubricant for the penetrator 11 or 21as it pierces the armor plate. Thus greater penetration is obtained andless energy is lost from the penetrator 11 or 21 with the result thatgreater after-armor damage can be accomplished by the partiallyfragmented penetrator after penetration.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention arepossible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore, to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. A projectile for piercing armor, comprising structure defining aprojectile body, an elongated penetrator of relatively smaller diameterextending forward from said body and terminating in an enlarged head forpiercing said armor, incendiary material surrounding said penetrator andterminating at said enlarged head, said incendiary material having asmaller diameter than that of said enlarged head for piercing said armortherewith, and windshield structure defining a smooth surface oftransition between said body and said enlarged head.

2. The projectile of claim 1 wherein the rearward end of said penetratorterminates in said projectile body.

3. The projectile of claim 1 wherein the rearward end 4 of saidpenetrator extends rearward of said projectile body.

4. The projectile of claim 3 wherein said incendiary material terminatesat the end opposite said enlarged head in a tapered wedge within saidprojectile body.

5. The projectile of claim 1 wherein the forward end of said enlargedhead terminates in a blunt point.

6. The projectile of claim 1 wherein the forward end of said projectilebody terminates in a sharp edge.

7. The projectile of claim 1 and additionally, a soft metal nosepositioned over the forward end of said enlarged head.

8. The projectile of claim 1 and additional incendiary materialpositioned in said projectile body and having a larger diameter thanthat of said enlarged head.

9. The projectile of claim 8 wherein the first mentioned incendiarymaterial is of high density and said additional incendiary material isof low density.

10. The projectile of claim 1 wherein said penetrator is axially locatedwith respe-ct to said projectile body.

11. A projectile for piercing armor, comprising structure defining aprojectile body, an elongated penetrator of relatively smaller diameterextending axially forward from said body and terminating in an enlargedhead for piercing said armor, high density incendiary material laterallysurrounding said penetrator and terminating at said enlarged head, saidincendiary material having a smaller diameter than that of said enlargedhead for piercing said armor therewith, low density incendiary materialpositioned within said projectile body, and windshield structuredefining a smooth transition between said body and said enlarged head.

12. The projectile of claim 11 wherein the forward edge of saidprojectile body is sharp-edged for piercing thin armor.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 577,183 2/1897Borchardt 102-52 740,849 10/ 1903 Groff 102-52 1,150,667 8/1915 Dunwoody102-52 2,724,334 1l/1955 Norton et al. 102-52 3,096,715 7/1963 Du Four102-52 FOREIGN PATENTS 125,603 5/1919 Great Britain.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner. ROBERT F. STAHL, Examiner.

S. W. ENGLE, Assistant Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,302,570 February 7, 1967 Prank R. Marquardt It is hereby certifiedthat error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction andthat the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

In the heading to the printed specification, line 4, for "assignor to"read assgnor of fifty percent to Signed and sealed this 17th day ofOctober 1967.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD J. BRENNER Edward M. Fletcher, Ir.

Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer

1. A PROJECTILE FOR PIERCING ARMOR, COMPRISING STRUCTRUE DEIFNING APROJECTILE BODY, AN ELONGATED PENETRATOR OF RELATIVELY SMALLER DIAMETEREXTENDING FORWARD FROM SAID BODY AND TERMINATING IN AN ENLARGED HEAD FORPIERCING SAID ARMOR, INCENDIARY MATERIAL SURROUNDING SAID PENETRATOR ANDTERMINATING AT SAID ENLARGED HEAD, SAID IN-